Body Found In U-Haul In Hayward ID'd As 40-Year-Old Bay Point Man

The odd case of Charles Goetting, the 27-year-old man suspected of shooting a BART police officer on Christmas morning, driving a stolen U-Haul van, and murdering another man whose body was found in the back of the van, has an update. The body has been identified as that of 40-year-old Jason Colin Anderson, as KRON 4 reports, and his last known address was in Bay Point. The connection between Goetting and Anderson remains, unclear, however it appears both had criminal records, and Goetting's, at least, involved methamphetamine.

The trouble all began after 11 a.m. on Friday when two BART officers spotted Goetting pushing a U-Haul van with a broken rear window in the parking structure beside the Hayward BART station. He was acting suspiciously, and upon questioning him they found that he was on probation. As soon as they asked him to put his hands on his head, Goetting pulled a gun out of his waistband  which turned out to be stolen  and fired on the officers, hitting one in the arm. The other officer then fired on Goetting, hitting him twice in the hip and side, after which he was taken to the hospital for treatment and arrested.

As the Contra Costa Times reports, via a dig into the backgrounds of both men, Goetting has a long criminal history that includes 14 felony counts spread over four arrests in 2013. In one of those arrests, he was charged with the sale of methamphetamine along with a co-defendant whom the Times contacted, a girlfriend by the name of Mackenzie McCulley. She called the incident "tragic" and said that Goetting had "made some stupid decisions, but he's a great guy."

Like Goetting, Anderson appears to have moved multiple times in recent years to different Contra Costa County apartment buildings, and he has also faced criminal charges "at least twice" in the county.

According to ABC 7, via BART Police Chief Jeffrey Jennings, Goetting was found in possession of paraphernalia that suggested a recent or planned burglary. In his backpack were a BB gun, a ski mask, and other burglary tools.

An earlier report said the van also contained tarps, sandbags, and gas canisters. The van itself had some swapped license plates on it, suggesting it had been stolen, however police have yet to confirm this.